I’ve always been fascinated by time travel as a framing device in stories. Having spent my childhood hoovering up anything I could get my hands on in both the science fiction and straight-up fiction genres, an unexpected byproduct was that I found myself becoming increasingly fascinated with merging the two, eventually wrapping my head around what it would mean if time itself became more than just a construct of our own creation. Asking myself regularly the question; what if it was terrain? It took me thirty-four years to translate all of those ideas into a solid hook for a book. And a further four years to turn that hook into a fully-fledged series.
Okay, hear me out, I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t this a deep dive into quantum mechanics and theoretical physics that will break my brain and take an age to read?
Well, yes. And no.
The brilliance of this beautifully written work is that it’s chock full of Mr. Hawking’s humour. Best read in short bursts rather than in one night, there’s a real joy in learning from the best. And by the end of it, you may just have a firm grasp on everything from black holes to how to avoid a grandfather paradox.
Was there a beginning of time? Could time run backwards? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? These are just some of the questions considered in an internationally acclaimed masterpiece by one of the world's greatest thinkers. It begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein, before delving into the secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time, from the Big Bang to black holes, via spiral galaxies and strong theory. To this day A Brief History of Time remains a staple of the scientific canon, and its succinct and…
Total gear shift, I know, but this is going somewhere, I promise.
I was late to the party with the Potter series, and whilst not many will have the luxury of experiencing this book spoiler-free, the reason I’m recommending this is because of the impact it had on my writing.
There I was reading a book about a magic school and then out of nowhere (okay there was some allusion and one helluva Chekhov’s Gun with that necklace Hermione was rocking) it went full-on sci-fi! This wasn’t just a brief foray into time travel either, it was an entire arc that as a time travel fan I did not see coming and I hoovered up every glorious page of it like a Dyson*.
It's time to PASS THE MAGIC ON - with brand new children's editions of the classic and internationally bestselling series
The third book in the global phenomenon series that changed the world of books forever
When the Knight Bus crashes through the darkness and screeches to a halt in front of him, it's the start of another far from ordinary year at Hogwarts for Harry Potter. Sirius Black, escaped mass-murderer and follower of Lord Voldemort, is on the run - and they say he is coming after Harry.
In his first ever Divination class, Professor Trelawney sees an omen of…
Whilst technically a short story rather than a full novel, this thing was written all the way back in 1952, but set in the year 2055. Yet somehow…it reads as if it could have been written in the 80s. It involves an agency that allows the rich to travel back in time and hunt prehistoric animals for kicks. Horrid, right? Well, yes. But the hook here is the caveat: Don’t deviate from the path laid out by the event organisers.
This story blew my mind as a kid and my own series wouldn't exist without it. It’ll teach you everything you need to know in order to understand the history of the butterfly effect.
It had such an impact on my imagination that I just had to include an easter egg in my own series entitled The Flutterby Effect. This story has influenced so much more than you realise too, in terms of mainstream time travel related media. Everything from Back to The Future to The Simpsons have all riffed off it. See where it all began by reading this hidden gem.
It also led to a movie in 2005. But…we don’t talk about Bruno.
In "A Sound of Thunder", Time Safari, Inc. offers the greatest hunting trips ever--any year, any animal. But they don't guarantee you'll come back, or what you'll find if you do. And in "Night Call, Collect", who is harassing Emil Barton, the last man in the universe? After decades of waiting on Mars, these twisted phone calls could kill him! Winner of a Peabody Award.
An oldie but goldie, I’m sending you even further back into history for this rec’ to the year 1895 and even as I’m writing that I can’t get my synapses around how ahead of his time ol’ Herbert was.
Sure, it’s got that time travel razzle dazzle surrounding the time machine itself, but what this book is really about is actually more a case of putting class systems under the microscope and proving that if we don’t learn from past mistakes humanity will end up in the same state as the dinosaurs from my last recommendation. That is to say, extinct, not hunted for sport.
The whole thing is essentially a first-hand account of what it may be like to travel so far into Earth’s future that every single shred of life as you knew it has been destroyed.
But the more things change the more they stay the same, as so begins a journey through the human condition.
This story launched Wells’ career, and it’s easy to see why.
“I’ve had a most amazing time....” the protagonist declares.
A brilliant scientist constructs a machine, which, with the pull of a lever, propels him to the year AD 802,701.
Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of The Time Machine features an introduction by Dr Mark Bould.
The Time Traveller finds himself in a verdant, seemingly idyllic landscape where he is greeted by the diminutive Eloi people. The Eloi are beautiful but weak and indolent, and the explorer is perplexed by…
I adored this entire series from beginning to end, but I’m recommending Book 1 in the series because…well, it’s the start and also my favourite. This series launched all the way back in 2010 and even though it’s written for a young adult teen audience, it’s so well written and a joy to just kick back with on a Sunday afternoon with a cuppa.
The characterisation is brilliant, has some brilliant set pieces, and it has that Harry Potter kind of vibe with young protagonists forced into growing up a little too fast and getting to wield an altogether different kind of magic. There’s so much to love, as you learn all the rules and quirks of this universe.
Maddy should have died in a plane crash. Liam should have died at sea when the Titanic sank. Sal should have died in a tragic fire. But a mysterious man whisked them away to safety.
Maddy, Liam, and Sal quickly learn that time travel is no longer just a hope for the future; it is a dangerous reality. And they weren't just rescued from their terrible fates…they were recruited for the agency of TimeRiders created to protect the world from those seeking to alter the course of history for personal gain. By reliving the highly documented events in New York…
A story about life, death, tequila…and Time Travel. If time shattered, taking away everything you loved, how far would you go to get it all back?
Arriving at a lodge in Norfolk for a long weekend retreat, a group of friends meet for a 30th birthday celebration. Before the weekend is over, five of them will die. Trapped in a 33-hour time loop, only Hal and Kara have the ability to alter fate and prevent the deaths of their friends. But in order to unravel the secrets hidden within their own past, they must first learn how to adapt to the new rules of their reality. Time, however, is a relentless force – one which will stop at nothing to ensure that events unfold exactly as destiny dictates.
I once saw a play at the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Theatre. A play about Sor Juana. It was a good play, but it felt like something was missing like jalapenos left out of enchiladas. The play kept nudging me to look further to find Sor Juana, and so for the next five years, I did so. I read and read more. I listened for her voice, and that is where I heard her life come alive. This isn’t the only possibility for Sor Juana’s life; it is just the one I heard.
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, this brilliant 17th century nun flew through Mexico City on the breeze of poetry and philosophy. She met with princes of the Church, and with the royalty of Spain and Mexico. Then she met a stunning, powerful woman with lavender eyes, la Vicereine Maria Louisa, and her life changed forever. As her fame grew, she dared to challenge the diabolical Archbishop once too often, and he threw her in front of the Inquisition, where she stood, alone.
Sor Juana's work is studied still today, and justifiably so. Scholars study her months on end; mystics…
This astonishingly brilliant 17th century poet and dramatist, this nun, flew through Mexico City on wings of inspiration. Having no dowry, she chose the life of a nun so that she might learn, so that she might write, so that she might meet the most fascinating people of the western world. She accomplished all of that, and more.
One day a woman with violet eyes, eyes the color of passion flowers, entered her life. It was the new Vicereine, Maria Luisa. As the two most powerful women in Mexico City, the bond between them crossed politics and wound them in…
